Tag: John “Jellybean” Benitez

March 10, 2016

Madonna – Gambler (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Originally posted June 15, 2011

“Gambler” is a song by American recording artist Madonna. It was the second single released from the soundtrack album of the motion picture Vision Quest, and was released on October 3, 1985, by Geffen Records.

After the recording of “Crazy for You”, the soundtrack single for the 1985 coming of age drama Vision Quest, Madonna approached John “Jellybean” Benitez to produce another of her self-written songs called “Gambler”. Subsequently, the song was added to the soundtrack of the film, as music producer Phil Ramone felt that it would be appropriate for using in the beginning shots of the flim. As the song was recorded on the Geffen label, a commercial issue of the single, in the United States was suppressed, at the request of Madonna’s Sire Records management. They feared that commercial availability of another Madonna single would have been detrimental to the other singles from the Like a Virgin album, and the already available, Geffen-distributed, “Crazy for You”. Hence “Gambler” was never released, or sent for airplay in the United States. The UK 12″ single, contained the Extended Dance Mix, Instrumental Remix, and the song “Nature of the Beach” by Black ‘n Blue. The 7″ single had the original version, and “Nature of the Beach”. The video for “Gambler” is similar to “Crazy for You”, with Madonna singing the song along with clips culled from Vision Quest. Madonna filmed her performance on November 22, 1983, at the Big Foot Tavern in Spokane, Washington. To date, “Gambler” remains the last self-written Madonna single.

“Gambler” was released in October 1985 in the United Kingdom, and debuted at position twenty on the UK Singles Chart. After two weeks, it peaked there at four, and was present for fourteen weeks. By the end of 1985, Madonna chalked up another record with the song, becoming the first female artist to have eight UK Top 10s in one calendar year. The song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 200,000 copies of the single. According to The Official Charts Company, the song has sold 295,000 copies there. In Australia, the song debuted on the Kent Music Report chart at fourteen, and reached a peak of ten. In Germany, the song debuted at thirty-nine on the Media Control Charts, and reached a peak of twenty-five after five weeks, being present on the chart for twelve weeks. Across Europe, the song reached the top-ten of the charts in Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Norway. It peaked at twelve in Japan, twenty-three in Switzeland and forty-five in New Zealand.

SIDE A:
Gambler (Extended Dance Mix) 5:36
Arranged By – Stephen Bray
Producer, Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Written-By – Madonna
Performed By – Madonna

SIDE B:
Gambler (Instrumental Remix) 3:53
Arranged By – Stephen Bray
Producer, Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Written-By – Madonna
Performed By – Madonna

Nature Of The Beach 3:45
Producer – Bruce Fairbairn
Written-By – St. James*, Thayer*
Performed By – Black ‘N Blue

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records – TA 6585
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design [Sleeve] – Tomcat (7)
Photography [Cover] – Armando Gallo © Retna Pictures Ltd

NOTES:
A & B1: Special version from the LP “Vision Quest”
A & B1: Produced and Remixed for Jellybean Productions, Inc.
Madonna appears through the courtesy of Sire Records Company

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

January 20, 2016

David Bowie – Blue Jean (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Originally posted January 20, 8012

“Blue Jean” is a song from the album Tonight by David Bowie. One of only two tracks on the album to be written entirely by Bowie, it was released as a single ahead of the album.

Loosely inspired by Eddie Cochran, the song was an uncomplicated composition, recalling earlier Bowie rockers such as “The Jean Genie,” and is generally regarded as one of the better parts of a disappointing album.

Following the huge commercial success of Bowie’s previous album, Let’s Dance, its singles and the Serious Moonlight Tour, “Blue Jean” was launched with massive promotion. Julien Temple was engaged to direct a 21-minute short film to promote the song, Jazzin’ for Blue Jean. The song performance segment from this was also used as a more conventional music video.

“Blue Jean” was a hit in the UK and America, reaching No. 6 and No. 8, respectively.
The song would remain in Bowie’s live repertoire for the rest of his career, being performed on tours in 1987, 1990 and 2004.

Interviewed in 1987 and asked to compare a track like “Time Will Crawl” to “Blue Jean,” Bowie said “‘Blue Jean’ is a piece of sexist rock ‘n roll. [laughs] It’s about picking up birds. It’s not very cerebral, that piece.”

The flip side “Dancing with the Big Boys,” which Bowie also co-wrote with Iggy Pop, was written and recorded in eight hours as Bowie and Pop egged each other on. In what was described as an “exhilarating rush,” Bowie and Pop “went in [to the studio] with a few bottles of beer and would virtually bellow out anything that came into their heads,” said Hugh Padgham. “And I just recorded it all.” The song is about the “little guy” being crushed by “oppressive corporate structures.” The lyrics were taken from a backlog of unused lyrics; the line “this dot marks your location” was a reference to a “lengthy irritating stay” at a New York Hotel (Bowie had been looking at the hotel room’s fire escape map), and “Your family is a football team” was a reference to the immigrant families working in New York; “the whole family [has] to work together for survival.”

The track elicited this from Bowie:

There’s a particular sound I’m after that I haven’t really got yet; I’ll either crack it on the next album or retire from it. I think I got quite close to it on “Dancing with the Big Boys.” … I got very musical over the last couple of years – trying to write musically and develop things the way people used to write in the Fifties. I stayed away from experimentation. Now, I think I should be a bit more adventurous. And in “Big Boys,” Iggy and I broke away from all that for one track, and it came nearer to the sound I was looking for than anything else.

SIDE A:
Blue Jean (Extended Dance Mix) 5:16
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Written-By – David Bowie

SIDE B:
Dancing With The Boys (Extended Dance Mix) 7:28
Engineer [Remix] – Jay Burnette*Remix, Producer [Additional 12″ Production] – Arthur Baker
Written-By – C. Alomar*, D. Bowie*, I. Pop*

Dancing With The Boys (Extended Dub Mix) 7:13
Engineer [Remix] – Jay Burnette*Remix, Producer [Additional 12″ Production] – Arthur Baker
Written-By – C. Alomar*, D. Bowie*, I. Pop*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Blue Jean	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#8
1984	Blue Jean	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#2
1984	Blue Jean	U.S. Billboard Hot DanceMusic/Club Play	#2

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America – V-7838-1/2
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – David Bowie, Derek Bramble, Hugh Padgham

NOTES:
Album versions can be heard on “TONIGHT”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

January 16, 2015

Melissa Manchester – Thief Of Hearts (Netherlands 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Thief Of Hearts” is a 1984 single by American singer-songwriter and actress Melissa Manchester. Produced by Giorgio Moroder and Harold Faltermeyer it was the theme song for the film Thief Of Hearts starring Steven Bauer, appearing in the film and on it’s soundtrack. “Thief Of Hearts” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on November 24, 1984 peaking at #88.

SIDE A:
Thief Of Hearts (Dance Mix) 6:11

SIDE B:
Thief Of Hearts (Instrumental) 4:32
Thief Of Hearts (Short Version) 4:02

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Thief Of Hearts	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#88
1984	Thief Of Hearts	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary	#18
1984	Thief Of Hearts	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#14

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Casablanca Records ‎– 880-308-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Disco

CREDITS:
Producer – Giorgio Moroder, Harold Faltermeyer
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez

NOTES:
From The Original Soundtrack Of The Paramount Motion Picture “THIEF OF HEARTS”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

January 5, 2015

Robbie Nevil – Back On Holiday (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“Back On Holiday” was the first single from American pop singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Robbie Nevil’s second album “A Place Like This”. The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on December 11, 1988 peaking at #34, the single also reached #52 on the Billboard R&B chart.

SIDE A:
Back On Holiday (Ibiza Mix) 8:58
Back On Holiday (Dance Edit) 4:57

SIDE B:
Back On Holiday (Carribbean Mix) 7:14
Back On Holiday (Montego Bay Mix) 4:14

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	Back On Holiday	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#34
1988	Back On Holiday	U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles	#52

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI-Manhattan Records ‎– V-56108
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: RnB/Swing, House

CREDITS:
Engineer [Assistant] – Paul Logus
Engineer [Remix] – Hugo Dwyer
Guitar – Felicia Collins
Mixed By – Chris Porter
Percussion – Bashiri Johnson
Producer – Robbie Nevil
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Synthesizer – Ed Terry

NOTES:
Original version appears on the LP “A PLACE LIKE THIS”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi